Six-colour KBA Rapida 105 with inline coating for Swisstex Printers Ltd.
First UV sheetfed offset press in Bangladesh
Recently Dhaka-based Swisstex Printers Ltd. finalised an order for a six-colour Rapida 105 with inline coating facilities from KBA-Sheetfed Solutions in Radebeul. The press is configured for both conventional and UV production, and is scheduled to go into operation in Bangladesh in spring 2016. Swisstex Printers Ltd. is a subsidiary of Swiss Tex Group, a producer of labels for the clothing industry.
The company has been producing tags and labels using various technologies since 1995. It took up offset printing around the turn of the century and the first multi-colour press was purchased in 2007. In the meantime, Swisstex is a fully integrated print enterprise with a total of eleven single- and multi-colour sheetfed offset presses. In addition to offset, the company is also active in flexo and screen printing, as well as producing woven labels. Some 200 of the company's approx. 1,000 employees are responsible for the print production and work a three-shift system, six days a week.
Alongside labels, Swisstex offers further print products for the clothing industry, for example photo cards and packaging. The list of clients includes international brand names such as Marks & Spencer, Mango, H&M, Khappahl or Varner, and further such global players are to be attracted in the future. All the products printed at Swisstex are for export.
International clients expect their work to be handled on modern equipment. That applies equally to print products, and it was not least for this reason that company chairman Shibbir Mahmud, his son and managing director Sajjad H. Mahmud and Mohammad Iqbal Ahmed Kahn, director of Swisstex Printers, decided to install the new KBA Rapida 105. Highlight features include CleanTronic Impact washing systems, an emission extraction system (EES), three UV interdeck dryers, VariDryBlue dryers (IR/hot air/UV) in the triple-length extended delivery and the density measuring system ErgoTronic ColorDrive. In addition, the press is raised by 450 mm to enable higher sheet piles and incorporates both a CX accessory package for board handling and provisions for mixed operation with conventional and UV inks and coatings. According to the Swisstex management, the new press will be the first UV sheetfed offset press in Bangladesh. This capability is also the basis for the company's plans to print on plastic films, e.g. for the transparent packaging of appropriate clothing items.
This Rapida 105 is not the only KBA sheetfed offset press currently earmarked for Bangladesh. Two half-format Rapida 75 presses and a further Rapida 105 are also being installed in the country this year.
